Problems/Repairs

If the Property is in Disrepair

You should first of all write to the landlord detailing the problems and asking for them to be put right. If nothing happens within a reasonable time, write another letter. If still no repairs are done, you have a choice of options.

• The Local Authority Service: You could contact the City Council who will send a representative to judge whether the house meets the standard outlined under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. If the property does not meet the standard they will serve an improvement order on the landlord, ordering him to do remedial works within a specified time. Local However this service should only be used  if the repairs are serious and breach one of your landlord fundamentals.
• A County Court Small Claims Track Claim: The other course of action is to bring a claim against the landlord in the County Court for an injunction ordering him to do the repairs. You can also claim compensation for the repairs not being done. It is also possible to claim that the landlord is in breach of his ‘covenant of quiet enjoyment’.
• Self Help: Finally, tenants can also use self help measures. Under the common law you are entitled to get the repair work done yourself and charge the cost to the landlord (Eg. by making a deduction from his rent payments). However you must be very careful about doing this, and should note the following points:
• The repair work must be work covered by the landlords statutory repairing obligations and/or the terms of the tenancy agreement
• The landlord must be notified of the disrepair and given an opportunity to do the work first

If the landlord fails to do the work, three estimates for the cost of the repair work should be obtained and submitted to the landlord, and he should be told that if he fails to do the work within a specified period (14 or 21 days would probably be appropriate unless the repair work is extremely urgent.) You should use the cheapest, but most reliable contractor to do the work and charge the cost to the landlord. If they fail to pay you can take them to court.

No deductions can be made in respect of compensation for personal injury or distress caused by the disrepair – this has to be done via court action if nothing can be agreed with the landlord.

Inspections and Repairs

You do not have to let the landlord in to do repairs to your property. The landlord cannot enter the property whenever he likes. He has the right to enter the property to do inspections to enable him to carry out his repairing obligations under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. However, he should give you proper notice first and only enter at agreed times.

If you are unhappy with the times suggested by your landlord, then you can ask him to come at an alternate time. For example, you might want to be in the property when the landlord or his agent inspects and when his workmen carry out repairs, for security purposes. So long as you are reasonable about it this should not be a problem.

Alternatively you may feel that the landlord is entering the property to do inspections too frequently. Quarterly inspections are normal and you should agree to this. However weekly inspections would be unreasonable.

If your landlord just comes into the property without giving you any notice at all, then you should write and ask him to only enter by agreement with you and after having given at least 24 hours written notice. If he continues after this, then this will be considered harassment.  See the Problem Landlords Section.

Be aware that if you refuse to allow the landlord any access to carry out repairs then you cannot hold him responsible for any losses or personal injury you suffer as a result of the disrepair as it will be your fault that the repair work did not get done. The landlord may also be able to hold you responsible for the deterioration in the condition of the property and claim compensation from you.

If you continually refuse to allow access for inspections and repairs, your landlord will also almost consider eviction proceedings (as he will wish to monitor his property and ensure that it does not deteriorate and its value decrease). Note that he may be able to base a claim for possession on your refusal to allow him access, even if you would otherwise have security of tenure, for example if you are an assured or protected tenant.

Fair Wear and Tear

This is the deterioration of the property due to its normal use as a home by the tenant. The general rule is that the landlord cannot claim for damage due to ‘fair wear and tear’ from the tenants damage deposit when he leaves, or expect the property to be left in exactly the same pristine condition as it was when it was originally let. Certainly he cannot expect the property to be left in a better condition.

The amount of ‘fair wear and tear’ allowable will vary depending on the tenants. For example, there will be more wear if a property is let to a group of students than if it were let to a couple of professionals; this will be known and understood by your landlord.

fixing problems

1. Immediately contact your landlord.
2. Find the relevant section in your contract.
3. Work out whether the issue is your responsibility, your landlords, or a combination.
4. Make a log of all communication concerning the issue. It is probably best that after the initial phone call that you put everything into letter form, so that you have a log of all communication concerning the problem.
5. Agree realistic dates for the work to be completed.
6. If the problem is unresolved issue a small claims court summons, but this should only be done as a last resort. See our Small Claims Section for details.